Laila Kirkpatrick, Staff Writer
U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour issued a ruling on Thursday temporarily blocking Trump’s executive order to end birthright citizenship. The order aimed to ban birthright citizenship for children born to migrants in the U.S. who are here temporarily or without legal status.
The ruling was issued after a hearing in Seattle, during which Judge Coughenour interrupted Justice Department lawyer Brett Shumate to express his belief that the executive order was unconstitutional. The judge also signed a temporary restraining order in response to a lawsuit brought by Oregon, Arizona, Illinois, and Washington state.
State Attorney General Nick Brown of Washington applauded the judge’s skepticism, stating that the ruling was “step one.” Brown said, “To hear the judge from the bench say that in his 40 years as a judge, he has never seen something so blatantly unconstitutional sets the tone for the seriousness of this effort.” Brown, one of 18 Democratic attorneys general who sued to block the order, expressed hope that it would “never take effect.”
